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Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 13 and Bun Box

This week’s attempt to eat at every food stall at Norwich Market was Bun Box, which we visited in 2023 when we last embarked on this little project. Last time we visited, I wasn’t entirely sure about the value for money when I ordered a chicken katsu bun and I thought that the pricing was towards the higher end of the scale for the market.

The menu board. Incidentally, I didn’t take as many photos of the stand generally as I didn’t want the police to think that I was trying to capture them in my little arrangement. Neither James or I remembered that they did these more substantial meals which are listed on the lower menu, but having checked on the menu board from last time, not a great deal has actually changed. The price increases here over the last two years are relatively small, mostly either 50p or £1 on the price of a meal.

The list of sides. The service was friendly and personable, with the queueing system clearly signed as it might not otherwise be entirely obvious. The stall was busy when we were there and the team member was warning customers that they might face a ten or fifteen minute wait. The stall has clearly built up something of a loyal following judging by the numbers of customers who were coming here, with the menu being quite broad.

We had an eight minute wait for the food, but that seemed reasonable given how busy it was. They prefer cash, but they do accept cards as well. They give customers a numbered ticket and also try and batch together food orders so groups get their food at the same time.

I ordered the spicy chicken don which cost £9. This was pieces of panko chicken with sticky rice, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, spring onion, sriracha sauce, sesame seeds and Japanese mayo. This surprised and delighted me much more than when I had the bun a couple of years ago. The chicken was very slightly dry, but the coating added flavour and the sauce added some extra taste. The sesame seeds and spring onions added texture and the rice was suitably sticky. The large pieces of lettuce covered in sauce were a bit of a faff to eat and could have been smaller, but I felt that the whole meal was filling and represented decent value for money.

James sashayed excitedly towards the counter and went for a spicy chicken bun which was £5.50 and he seemed pleased after ordering. When the two meals arrived, with his looking like a little side to mine, he then promptly spent the next half an hour complaining about how small his selection was. He received one piece of chicken, mayo and lettuce, which didn’t seem to me to be quite as good value. I wonder if they’d be better charging a little bit more and giving customers two of the buns, as James didn’t find his selection as filling as mine. Indeed, he complained about numerous things about the bun, but he was centred on that he finished eating it in about twenty seconds. I think he spent longer taking a photograph of it rather than eating it, but I didn’t say anything. I’m apparently meant to explain that he was disappointed about the amount he received compared to how many chips he got last week, but I feel that I’ve done that now.

Basing this on just my experience, I thought that this was all quite agreeable, with the service being friendly and the food having a suitable depth of taste and flavour. However, for value for money, I’d personally go for one of the larger meals.

May 17, 2025
Foxley – Church of St. Thomas the Apostle (Mabel Annie Purdy – 1883-1913)

This grave at the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle caught my eye as it commemorated the life of Mabel Annie Purdy who died according to the gravestone at the young age of just 28. I was initially confused as the church’s birth register notes that a Mabel Annie Purdy was born on 25 November 1882 and baptised on 15 February 1883. However, I then noticed a birth of Mabel Annie Purdy on 7 August 1883 and baptism on 26 October 1884, so I assume the first little girl died and they wanted to give their next child the same name. Both girls were the daughters of Henry Purdy, a publican, and Rosina Purdy (nee Connell). The pub that they ran was the Chequers in the village, which closed in 1968, but apparently the pub sign remains in place so the building on Stocks Hill remains. Henry was a farmer and he was the licensee of the pub between 1863 and very early in 1913, when he died, which is quite a tenure.

Mabel was mentioned in the Eastern Evening News on 14 April 1902 when her beautiful singing in a concert in Bawdeswell to raise money for the Foxley church bells was mentioned. These church bells have had a substantial amount of fund raising over the years…. The Downham Market Gazette also mentioned on 29 December 1900 that Mabel was excellent at needlework and the Eastern Daily Press on 24 October 1901 mentioned that Mabel and her sister Ada were bridesmaids at the wedding of Albert Green and Edith Purdy. At least those newspaper mentions add a little colour to the detail of her life, I always find it a little sad when it seems nearly nothing is known.

Mabel died on 23 April 1913, not long after her father died. Unfortunately, I can’t find any mention in the local newspapers as to why she died, so that remains a mystery for the moment at least…

May 15, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 12 and Lucy’s Fish and Chips

This week’s episode of James and I working our way around every food stall at Norwich Market. And, this week, it was a visit to Lucy’s Fish and Chips, where James and I have been going for over a decade and which received the incredible accolade as our second (well, my second as I’m writing it) stall in 2023. James only walked by three people he knew today, although I suspect there were more as he disguises the interactions to pretend he’s anti-social. The stall also has a sister outlet on the market which we’ve already visited this year.

The menu and the prices, with an apology printed on the counter that price increases have been necessary due to increasing costs. The price increases are in keeping with other stalls, with the haddock going from £5 to £6.50 in two years and the cod from £6.50 to £8. The stall accepts cash and card, although there’s now a sign stating that they prefer cash. The queueing system felt suitably logical and the stall was constantly busy when I was there, with a wide selection of different items being ordered.

The specials are visible in the background and a reminder that they use vegetable oil here. There’s also a vegan and vegetarian menu available to broaden their appeal to non-fish eaters.

I decided against the battered cauliflower, though to be fair, anything’s an improvement on plain cauliflower. The service was friendly, engaging and personable, although it helped that they knew James as they probably remembered some odd social interaction he had with them years ago or some joke or pun he made. There’s an informal and inviting feel to this stand, so I felt welcome. I went for the small cod, chips and curry sauce for £6.50, which I thought was reasonably priced. It took twelve minutes to be prepared which seemed a long time as James got him immediately, but sometimes food is worth the wait and they were busy.

The seating area where we were able to get a seat, although James had a bit of a wait to get us one. Not that it mattered to me as I was standing on the other side of the stall excitedly waiting for my number to be called out. The problem with us deciding these stalls on the day is that I don’t know in advance to bring my own ketchup, as I’m too tight to pay whatever the cost is here. The seating area was clean and ordered, with customers sitting here fairly reliably having ordered from the stall and not being interlopers from nearby stalls which don’t have their own executive seating area.

The cod was larger than I expected and they had forgotten the scraps (which I insist on calling them, although they call them crispies at the stall), but willingly added them in a bag on request. The bottom of the cod was perhaps a little soggy, but the fish flaked away and had a depth of flavour. The batter had some crispiness to it and a pleasant taste, whilst the chips were firm on the exterior and suitably fluffy on the interior. The curry sauce was also served as a generous portion and added to the whole delicious arrangement.

James went for his usual and he was moderately annoyed to discover they’d forgotten that his usual was two small battered sausages and not just one. He forgave them though, one of the few stalls where he would. I do remember the butcher’s sausages that they used to have here and I do miss those, although James was content with the quality of his battered option today.

I left the stall feeling that I had enough food as it was sufficiently filling and the value for money was excellent. The cod was of a decent quality, the service was friendly, the surroundings were clean and it was good to be back. This is, once again, one of the best stalls that we’ve visited this year on the market. All really rather lovely.

May 14, 2025
Foxley – Church of St. Thomas the Apostle

Next on the tour of Norfolk churches that Richard and I were embarking on was the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Foxley. Unfortunately, the church was locked, so I’ll have to limit myself to just the exterior of the building. There has been a church here since Saxon times, although it was rebuilt in stone in the Norman period and most of the nave is from the early fourteenth century and the chancel a little earlier.

I’m assuming these trees mark an extension to the churchyard.

The tower with its not very subtle built-in staircase. The bells in the tower were restored and rededicated in January 2014 by the then Bishop of Norwich, the Rt. Reverend Graham Jones. The bell ringers here have had some challenges over the years, as the Downham Market Gazette reported in November 1879 that £5 was needed to restore the bells as they had been out of use for some time. There was then another fund raiser in 1901 as the bells needs work again, and indeed, nearly every newspaper article mentioning the church over the last 300 years has been about these bells.

The porch was added in the middle of the fifteenth century.

The porch arrangement, now missing its niche statue which was likely removed during the Reformation, was funded by the local Grey family.

The wall painting is from the nineteenth century when the Victorians tidied the building up.

The porch door which is around 700 years old and it does look like it has some heritage to it. I make my usual comment that it still feels special to be able to see a door that has been used by generations by the local congregation and it’s so old that it was originally a door to the pre-reformation Catholic church.

The end of the chancel and this part of the building dates from the late thirteenth century.

The chancel which looks like it was rendered at one point, but that has at some stage mostly fallen off. The render does make quite a lot of sense in terms of protecting the building, and it’s likely the church was rendered for quite a chunk of its history, but it’s nice to see the raw stone underneath.

The side of the chancel, which appears to have been increased at some point given that odd brickwork at the top.

There are apparently some interesting elements inside, including the fourteenth century font, the old pulpit and the repaired rood screen, but they’ll have to wait until we visit again when the church is open.

May 14, 2025
Greggs – 2015 Receipt

I wish chicken bakes were that now…. Although, finding these old receipts is reminding me that things weren’t quite as cheap as I seem to remember them being ten years ago.

May 13, 2025
Bawdeswell – All Saints’ Church (Robert Gardinear / Robert Gardener 1764-1796)

This gravestone is located at All Saints’ Church in Bawdeswell and it commemorates the life of Robert Gardinear. Although I’m sure that there are a few examples of that surname still around, it seems a more unusual way of spelling the word. Talking about transcription issues, prizes to anyone who can read the age on this gravestone. I initially thought that it said “aged 52 years” but all the transcriptions read “aged 32 years”. Although, this would fit, as the nearest birth that I can find is Robert Gardener who was baptised at this church in Bawdeswell in 1765 and then buried here on 21 April 1796 (having died one week earlier). If the birth is the right Robert, then he was the son of Henry and Elizabeth Gardener (or however they were spelling that).

Back to the spelling of Gardinear, I’m going to say that’s a mistake dating back to the eighteenth century. There is no record of anyone else of that surname in Norfolk and the spelling of names was quite fluid in the eighteenth century.

May 13, 2025
Ridgeway – Day 5 (Summary)

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image link]

DISTANCE WALKED: 14.2 miles

BRAVEST PERSON: Julian (for general bravery over previous days)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Do you have Tourettes Bev?” – Susanna “Aren’t they spindly legs?” – Bev

This is the only day’s summary that I wrote after the end of the walk, so I might have forgotten some of the finer details of the day….

We had gone much further than I had anticipated the day before, which meant that the day’s walking should be much easier, at under fifteen miles. These are relatively short distances that we all do on a regular basis, but today it didn’t feel quite so exciting. The morning’s walk was leisurely and was back to the traditional wide chalk path with trees on either side.

We had our lunch in Princes Risborough, some of us deciding to go to the pub and some going straight for a sit down in a grassy area. We didn’t really have the energy to explore the town, but it seemed a pleasant little location. After my quick half a cider I was able to purchase a glamorous lunch in the Spar at the Esso petrol station, realising that this really was living the dream.

Bev had one of her hysterical lunch-time episodes when she started commenting on legs. After she had caused finished much offence we all packed up and struggled back up the hill to rejoin the path.

The afternoon element was much hillier in places, but there was a lot of wildlife visible, including deer and insects. Actually, the deer was really the only interesting piece of wildlife I saw, but it deserved a mention.

We went through the Chequers estate, a property which was gifted to the nation around 100 years ago for the use of the Prime Minister. The legislation that secured this was also the first time that the words “Prime Minister” had been used. It wasn’t possible to get that close to the house, but it did at least offer a reasonable view of the frontage.

There was a lot of security at the gate, with numerous signs warning people to stay out of the rounds and to stick to the path. However, I liked that they hadn’t tried to reroute the path by claiming security concerns. I wasn’t walking with Bev, as I was worried that her loud cackling would concern the security team, but luckily she wasn’t stopped and questioned.

The walk ended with a woodland meander and then it dropped down to Wendover. Our hotel was a little way off the route, indeed, quite a way off the route. Hardened adventurers would have just walked that distance and treated it as part of their walk. We all sat down at the railway station and called a taxi. Well, I say we, I barged my way onto a seat as I deemed myself most in need and Steve had to phone a taxi.

Eight phone calls to taxi companies later, as well as forty minutes of sitting down, we were whisked to our grand hotel accommodation. I was disappointed that the occupants of room five could be heard along the corridor in room two, but otherwise everything was clean, comfortable and represented very reasonable value. I discovered later the noise coming from room five was Bev.

I had strangely low hopes for the meal in the Innkeeper’s Lodge, where we were staying, but it was much better than I had anticipated. The fish & chips, shared dessert and shared wine were all of a perfectly reasonable quality, and it was worth the wait that we had. Bev enjoyed most of her food, which confused everyone.

We enjoyed a few drinks into the late hours, and then Bev and I stayed up late to gossip about the others. We left the pub in the early hours of the following day, which probably wasn’t a good idea…..

Maggie and I were the ones probably suffering the most, or at least, we were the ones being most vocal. I don’t follow this rubbish from people like Liam who battle on in silence. As Frank Spencer said, a trouble shared is a trouble doubled, so that’s my philosophy. If in pain, tell everyone. And even if not in pain, just tell everyone you are a bit to garner sympathy.

May 13, 2025
Ridgeway – Day 5 (Walking)

[I originally posted this on June 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

Lots of photos from day five of our walking adventure.

May 13, 2025
Bawdeswell – All Saints’ Church (Robert Leeds 1711-1763) and Alice Leeds (1700-1770)

This is the ledger stone of Robert Leeds (1711-1761) and his wife Alice Leeds (1700-1770), who were buried in All Saints’ Church in Bawdeswell. I can’t be certain, but I suspect the baptism at Foxley (near to Dereham) on 1 October 1711 (and birth on 18 July 1711) is the same Robert Leeds. He himself was the son of Robert Leeds (not another one…..?) and Mary Leeds.

He married Alice at St. Mary Church in Sparham on 26 January 1730 and that’s a little bit of an age gap for the time, with Robert being 19 and Alice being 30. They were the parents of Robert Leeds (1736-1807), William Leeds (1740-1798) and John Leeds (1743-1763).

May 13, 2025
Bawdeswell – All Saints’ Church (John Leeds 1743-1763)

John Leeds (1743-1763) was the son of Robert Leeds and Alice Leeds, as well as being the brother of William Leeds and Robert Leeds. I can’t though establish why John died so young.

As I don’t get out much and need a distraction, I’ve been trying to establish how wealthy this family might have been. And I’ve discovered that the presence of these ledger stones isn’t necessarily a sign of high wealth, it was often because they were cheaper than monuments and so it was something that would have been accessible to the middle classes. The individuals would have been buried under these ledger stones, but as the church has been rebuilt twice due to a couple of unfortunate incidents, that may or may not be true here. If it wasn’t for church burials needing to move outside, primarily for health reasons, more churches might well have been completely paved with these ledger stones.

May 13, 2025